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Posted 6/27/2011 7:07 PM (GMT 0)
Just curious to know if anyone can tolerate it. Does anyone here drink alcohol when not flaring? How much do you drink?

I've never flared because of alcohol but decided to exclude it from my life forever. BUT I am only 24 years old and every invitation I get from friends involves alcohol so I end up just turning down their invitation. Yes, I tend to stay home a lot lately trying to figure out other things I can do. I know I will end up going out and having a beer sooner or later but a beer or 2 will be my maximum.
Posted 6/27/2011 7:20 PM (GMT 0)
I have a couple drinks. I drink wine, beer, margarita, martinis, whatever I want really. I don't have any problems with alcohol when I am in remission. I used to think alcohol would cause me to flare but I am thinking the flare would have happened regardless.

I never drink a lot. 2 is my limit.
Posted 6/27/2011 7:40 PM (GMT 0)
From my conversations with my GI (who is an MD, phD with a lot of experience) there is no causation between a flare and the food you eat. He did add that if you have just recovered from a flare, and you colon is still in the early stages of healing it is better to stay away from things that aggravate the gut - alcohol, sugars, spices, insoluble fibers.

When I was not flaring I had no issues with an occasional drink (I prefer low sugar drinks like scotch, wine, vodka etc), spicy foods, and desserts in moderation.

Perhaps start with 1 drink and see if you have discomfort?
Posted 6/27/2011 8:24 PM (GMT 0)
Before I joined this group I never knew that alcohol was bad for UC. I'm not really a drinker but occasionally I will have one or two even during a flare (usually it the hopes that I would sleep instead of waking up to go to the bathroom). I don't think it made anything worse.
Posted 6/27/2011 8:27 PM (GMT 0)
@ dAetomeN-Can't agree with your doc on that one...that food does not contribute to flare symptoms. If so, then why do some people who follow diets like SCD or antifungal diets have such good success when they eliminate certain foods from their diet? My doctor told me food did NOT affect my UC symptoms, but he was very wrong.  Eliminating certain foods for a period of time, and now maintaining a somewhat low sugar/low grain diet helped me get well and keeps me well. Alcohol is an individual thing. It may not have an immediate effect, but perhaps over time it could cause you to flare again. Alcohol is a mycotoxin and mycotoxins cause disease. No way to predict how it may affect an individual.

@ Ernee- couldn't you still hang with your friends and have a non-alcoholic drink. One doesn't need to drink to have fun :)

Posted 6/27/2011 9:20 PM (GMT 0)

kim123 said...
@ dAetomeN-Can't agree with your doc on that one...that food does not contribute to flare symptoms. If so, then why do some people who follow diets like SCD or antifungal diets have such good success when they eliminate certain foods from their diet? My doctor told me food did NOT affect my UC symptoms, but he was very wrong. Eliminating certain foods for a period of time, and now maintaining a somewhat low sugar/low grain diet helped me get well and keeps me well. Alcohol is an individual thing. It may not have an immediate effect, but perhaps over time it could cause you to flare again. Alcohol is a mycotoxin and mycotoxins cause disease. No way to predict how it may affect an individual.
@ Ernee- couldn't you still hang with your friends and have a non-alcoholic drink. One doesn't need to drink to have fun :)

Food has no impact on my UC what-so-ever. I don't want to sound like i am gloating here because certain members will come at me. Just saying.

Also alcohol hasn't effected my UC. I wouldn't say i am a heavy drinker. Maybe 2 beers a week. Ernee stay home one weekend and drink a few beers to see how it effects you. If it doesn't then enjoy your youth.
Posted 6/27/2011 9:25 PM (GMT 0)
I over indulged on the weekend and it didn't make me flare, however it does tend to loosen things up for me for a day or two. But I also have IBS and Diverticulosis so that doesn't help. I try to limit my alcohol intake primarily because I am on 6mp, not because it causes adverse reactions in me.
Posted 6/27/2011 10:26 PM (GMT 0)
I think everyones UC is different. For some diet plays a big role in remission and for others it doesnt do anything at all. I can drink with minimal to no issues but beer tends to give me bad gas which causes pain so I stick to vodka/tonics. Like DSM said give it a trial one day at home and see what your body tolerates.

Even if you can tolerate it, take it easy. I learned the hard way that alcohol + repressed anger from having UC = bad outcome.
Posted 6/27/2011 11:57 PM (GMT 0)
I drank when I was in a flare and it didn't seem to make things worse. I did stop when things got really bad. I stopped hard alcohol entirely and I don't drink it much in remission. I used to drink beer mostly but switched to wine. Wine with food is much easier on my system than beer and hard liquor. I do think it is a good idea to quit drinking will flaring even though I didn't. It is definitely an irritant to the digestive track but I like my booze. I will definitely go low residue or even to a liquid diet if I flare again. Learned the hard way that fiber is sandpaper to my bowels.

In remission, I drink wine with dinner every night and sometimes have a mixed drink or beer. It will sound nuts but having too many actually results in almost constipation, reduced frequency, irregularity for me which is something I have never had a problem with ever. I can eat anything that I did before.

I know about two populations studies on drinking and UC. The one in the UK(?) pointed to heavy drinking being bad when you have UC. The one in Oregon found heavy drinking protective. I actually think that it is quite possible drinking lots suppresses the immune system. That the stress of quiting for an alcoholic might trigger a flare. And that a infrequent drinker might trigger a flare because they are not used to it.

Try it and stick to a moderate amount.
Posted 6/28/2011 3:46 AM (GMT 0)
Some studies on alcohol and IBD:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20682190

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17613927

http://www.ulcerativecolitis.org.uk/Alcohol.htm

Guess the only way to know for sure if it will affect you is if you try some. May be a cumulative effect rather than overnight indicator anyway. Cheers!

 

Posted 6/28/2011 4:07 AM (GMT 0)
I personally have pancreatic problems and stay completely away from alcohol.

The issue I find is not the alcohol, but how to deal with the constant pressure, and curious ( if not sometimes just obnoxious questions ), that come with saying you dont want a drink.
Also adjusting to being able to go out and still have a good time without drinking. It can be a very different scene when you don't drink.
I've found hanging with people who are really friends don't care about wether I drink or not or how many times I go missing because I'm in the toilet. As for the rest, you don't have to tell them the real reason you're not drinking. Say you're driving don't feel all that well, don't really feel like it. All these can be true, and with people that aren't that close these reasons are often enough.

I have managed it for four years now. I can't say that I never want a drink, sometimes in summer I would like nothing more then a cold beer. Instead when I'm out I treat myself with mocktails, or juice or soda drinks ( though they often give me pain, so often I don't bother ).
But I still love to go out to clubs, pubs, see bands play, dance get loud and roudy all without alcohol. it just takes time to get used to.

I agree with trying alcohol at home first too

Hope I helped :)
Wooky
Posted 6/28/2011 6:21 AM (GMT 0)

kim123 said...
@ dAetomeN-Can't agree with your doc on that one...that food does not contribute to flare symptoms.

The doctor didn't say that. He said diet can't cause a flare. Big difference.

If something causes you to flare, it means you were in remission and it caused you to flare again.

If something contributes to flare symptoms, it means you're flaring and it aggravates your colon.

I doubt something you eat can cause you to flare. Perhaps if you made major dietary changes, but not eating something once or twice.
Posted 6/28/2011 10:44 AM (GMT 0)

colitis33 said...


The doctor didn't say that. He said diet can't cause a flare. Big difference.

may I add that diet can't cause a flare by it self but in combination with other factors like - stress, overworking and so on it can?


regarding alcohol, i've tested a lot of stuff, and i've deciced that for me the best treat is dry red wine.

i am having 250 mg of it every day at dinner.
in weekends i have a day when i get to 500-750 ml - usualy when i get out with my frients or have visitors. if i pass 750 ml's day, or if i do this twice a week, then i can feel that my colon does not react well to it: losened stools, pain, undigested food.

i guess you should see what will suits you, but never cross the line your gut will set for you.
Posted 6/28/2011 2:39 PM (GMT 0)
I'm kind of a newbie at this whole UC thing, I was only diagnosed 2 months ago and had some pretty heavy bleeding, but very mild symptoms other than that.  My Dr put me on Lialda (3 day) and VSL#3DS and  has told me to feel free to eat and drink whatever I want, which is advice that I gladly follow.  I'm not much of a drinker, but I have had up to 4 beers on occasion, with no problems.  The only thing that seems to make a difference to me is that I'll get a lot of gas a day or two after I go overboard on suger.  Fortunately for me (unfortunately for my weight) the symptoms aren't severe enough to stop me.  :-)  Whether things will change if/when my disease progresses, I don't know.
Posted 6/28/2011 4:44 PM (GMT 0)
colitis33- I know everyone has their opinion, but I still think diet can play a factor in our flares, and it may not be the ONLY thing. Diet does not have an overnight effect, but may have a cumulative one; high carbs, sugars, foods (grains/peanuts) with mycotoxins or processed foods with chemicals eaten over a period of time could eventually cause our colons, or other parts of our bodies to manifest ill-wanted symptoms. For instance, high carbs and sugars feed fungus, and fungus can invade tissues, permeate mucus barriers, and cause inflammation. If you've ever taken antibiotics, eat grains, particularly wheat and corn, or breathed in air from a water-damaged or moldy place, you could have a fungus issue since mycotoxins are in your body now. Fungus has been implicated in many diseases, not just IBD.

If you take certain foods (i.e. sugars/grains/dairy) out of your diet, and/or limit them, and you get well and don't have anymore flares, how could one explain that? Same thing can be said about other diseases, like diabetes. Eliminate or restrict high carb/sugar/grains from your diet and you can reverse type 2 symptoms. There are many studies now suggesting dietary habits and diet as a risk factor for IBD.

IBD is definitiely an individual disease. There is no "one size fits all".

 

Posted 6/28/2011 5:03 PM (GMT 0)
Hi kim123,

You are absolutely right in saying that you diet will modulate your symptoms while in a flare, and that going on a low residue, low carb diet will ease your degestive system and quicken your healing process to bring you into remission.  However, neither of these suggest that eating badly will cause ulcers in your colon - there is no research to support that whatsoever.

Secondly, the idea that there is no "one size fits all" for UC is, in my humble opinion, a huge cop out by the medical community.  It reflects a lack of understanding of the disease, and a flawed model in treating the disease.  This is why you are now seeing more and more research into things like the human gut microbiome (the bacteria that normally reside in the human gut).  Already we have seen success with "alternative" procedures like fecal transplanation.  Just like physics before quantum mechanics, I believe that our inability to predict and explain a lot of UC phenomena is due to an incomplete model of the disease.

Sorry for rambling on...maybe I have had one too many drinks today ;)

Posted 6/28/2011 7:25 PM (GMT 0)

dAetomeN said...
Hi kim123,


However, neither of these suggest that eating badly will cause ulcers in your colon - there is no research to support that whatsoever.

indeed. but add into the mix the stress, the genetic heritage (famous HLA-B27 for some of us...), the antibiotics (proven to induce colitis), the medium we live in and maybe you will see a bigger picture.
For me i belive it was genetic factor - my father had UC and AS - combined with a huge depression - loss of my both parrents in my 20's and the loss of the loved one at the same time and with a diet that scares me now when i thing about it (i used to drink 4 liters of milk per day (1-2 per meal), eat one 350 grams bread per meal, 0.5 - 1 kg of potatoes, salami with jam poured over it, sweets, the hottest ketch-up&mustard i could find all together). I ate whenever i felt to - at 2 am, 5 am, 7 pm, 12 pm and used to have at least 3 big cups of coffee until 2 pm...


you are right - there is no model for UC. fecal transplant works - but only for some. why? there are 1000 bacterias living down or gut, who can say who are the 3-4-100 ones that our immune system (and what part of it?!) will react to and send us into UC? how much money must be spent in order to study them all?
Posted 6/28/2011 8:40 PM (GMT 0)
I say to the original poster (forget who that is now ; ) you don't have to drink to go out. Bring some non alcoholic beer or wine.

I used to go out Thur/Fri/Sat/Sun nights drink A LOT and it never bothered my UC. That was about 10 years ago. Now I get very tired when I drink and really don't want more than two or three and that is only about once a week.

I now try to alternate, so I'll have a vodka + diet coke, then diet coke, then vodka + diet, then diet that way I am only having two "drinks".
Posted 6/28/2011 9:03 PM (GMT 0)
It seems we usually spend so much time discussing whether or not foods are "bad" to eat/drink when one has UC/Crohn's and rarely do we recognize the importance of the "good, whole, natural, antioxidant, immune-boosting" foods we should be eating instead...berries,' tolerable' veggies until we can introduce more as our colons heal, lean protein, lots of water, along with natural herbs and spices, and leaving anything that comes in a box, jar, can, wrapper off the table. As hard as it is sometimes, I try to eat to live, not live to eat.
Posted 6/28/2011 10:33 PM (GMT 0)
@Beth- I'm surprised you can drink diet coke. Artificial sweetener is usually a no-no for UCers, and has ill-wanted effects for even "healthy" people. When you say drinking never bothered your UC, were you in remission or taking meds during that time?
Posted 6/28/2011 11:09 PM (GMT 0)
I'm 22. I drank pretty regularly this past year at college (it was my senior year...what can I say!), and still have the occasional drink. I've only gotten really drunk once though. I saw no side effects, but I think limiting it to the occasional drink (usually one drink a week) is probably a pretty good idea. I don't think having a beer or two is going to hurt you, as long as you're smart about it.
Posted 6/29/2011 4:55 AM (GMT 0)
I am 25 and have quit drinking completely. Every time I drink, it feels as though my body completely rebels. My skin starts hurting, I become intolerant/sensitive to cold and touch, of course my stomach/intestines hurt, I get crampy, etc. The next day, even if I only had a drink or two, I feel as though I've been hit by a bus. And not just your normal, run of the mill hangover. I just feel awful all around and it lasts all day. Literally one glass of wine is all it takes for that to happen.

I understand it is tough to stop drinking at a young age and turn down invitations. Keep in mind that you don't have to stay home - you can go and not drink. It may not be as fun, but that's your call. If your friends don't understand, don't take it too personally and maybe find different friends. If you're having a hard time sticking to your no-alcohol plan, find a distraction. I am now in nursing school and just plain do not have time, nor the desire, to drink anymore. It is what it is!
Posted 6/29/2011 3:00 PM (GMT 0)
Kim - I didn't know that about artificial sweetners. I use them every day (probably not good in itself). I will stop for a while to see if that helps me. I am drinking vita coco today. Thanks!

10 years ago I was mostly flare free, as long as I took sulfasalazine I was fine, then when I'd flare I'd take my meds again. I think that is why I now have pancolitis. Can't take any 5ASA's anymore......ah the good ol days ; )
Posted 6/29/2011 4:44 PM (GMT 0)
Beth- some info on artificial sweeteners:

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/04/26/major-media-finally-exposes-splendas-lies.aspx

http://aspartame.mercola.com/

 

Posted 6/29/2011 5:00 PM (GMT 0)
Beth, you should avoid them as much as possible....and especially if it's taken on a daily basis in food/drink intake.

I do chew one gum that has just xylitol. I can have a few pieces in the day, that's it...any more and I definitely have discomfort.

q
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